At this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, gender is high on the agenda.

The annual event — often billed as the Academy Awards for advertising — honors the most creative and successful ad campaigns from around the world, with diverse categories ranging from traditional print to mobile to promotion and activation campaigns.

But the marquee event on Tuesday was the award for the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change, a new category for campaigns that address the issues of gender inequality and prejudice. Campaigns focusing on female empowerment and debunking stereotypical taboos were big winners.

The Grand Prix Glass Lion — the top honor in the category — was awarded to BBDO India and Proctor & Gamble India's "Touch the Pickle" campaign, a push by sanitary napkin brand Whisper to shatter old taboos about menstruation in India. In particular, the campaign targets how menstruating women cannot touch the pickle jar in the kitchen, lest they make its contents "impure."

Apple and TBWA/Media Arts Lab Los Angeles wins the Grand Prix in the outdoor category for their "World Gallery" campaign. The campaign displays user-submitted photos in public places around the world. Apple/TBWA\MEDIA ARTS LAB

Ogilvy & Mather London wins gold for its visceral ads for "28 too Many," both the name of the campaign and the charity dedicated to eradicating the practice of female genital mutilation. OGILVY & MATHER LONDON

"The Marathon Walker" by Ogilvy Paris wins gold in the Outdoor category. The campaign involves Siabatou Sanneh, an ordinary woman from Gambia, carrying a 5-gallon drum on her head through the Paris marathon to remind viewers that women walk marathon distances for their water every day. Water for Africa/OGILVY PARIS

"A cream that gives you wrinkles" by Colenso BBDO Aukland wins a Gold Lion. The ad from the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation celebrates a skin cream that assists in breast cancer detection, and is a play on the typical cosmetic cream ad. COLENSO BBDO Auckland

In addition, seven other campaigns out of the category's 166 entries took home a Glass Lion prize, including the #LikeAGirl campaign by Always — another Proctor & Gamble feminine hygiene brand — which also won the Grand Prix award in the PR category.

The #LikeAGirl campaign by Leo Burnett offices in Toronto, Chicago and London focused on turning the phrase "like a girl" from an insult into an empowering idea. The campaign kicked off with a video that at first asks people how to run, throw and fight "like a girl" — and shows how damaging these stereotypes can be to an adolescent girl's confidence. Then, it turns the idea around, asking women to share on social media what they do proudly with the hashtag #LikeAGirl to change the meaning of the phrase entirely.

The campaign was a huge success, reaching more than 58 million views on YouTube.

"Winning a Grand Prix in PR is a wonderful accolade, but to win a Glass Lion in its inaugural year is spectacular," said Mark Tustsell, global chief creative officer at Leo Burnett, who says it has been a thrill see a big brand such as Always embrace and be recognized for highly creative work.

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Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West talked about her video game, her Instagram feed and more during a discussion on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. Getty Images

Actress and Comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfuss speaks during the "Political Address from the Queen of Comedy" event at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Getty Images

Steven Yeun, a star on AMC's The Walking Dead, participates in the presentation "How to survive a zombie attack (and harness cultural trends to grow brands)" on Sunday, June 21, 2015 at theCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. Getty Images

British music producer and artist Mark Ronson speaks at the "Music in the Digital Age" panel on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at theCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. Getty Images

Musician and Philanthropist will.i.am speaks at a presentation on data science and creativity on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. getty images

Actor and Philanthropist Adrian Grenier speaks at a panel on collaborations between celebrities and brands focused on social change at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France on Monday, June 22, 2015. getty images

A celeb in the corporate world, James Murdoch, incoming CEO at 21st Century Fox and son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, discusses business expansison and innovation at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France on Thursday, June 25, 2015. getty images

Metallica drummer and co-founder Lars Ulrich speaks during the "Music & branding moving 'at the speed of culture'" panel at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 22, 2015 in Cannes, France. Christian Alminana

DJ and producer David Guetta speaks at a seminar on celebrity endorsements and brand authenticity on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at theCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. Getty Images

Filmmaker Richard Curtis speaks at a seminar on his work with SAWA (The Global Cinema Advertising Association) and the United Nations to produce the #WEHAVEAPLAN ad for Project Everyone at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Getty Images

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"Touch the Pickle" also won a Bronze Lion in the Media category, while #LikeAGirl took home Gold Lions in three other categories.

Sport England and FCB Inferno London also walked away with a Glass Lion for "This Girl Can," a female empowerment campaign aimed at tackling women's fear of judgement while exercising. It also won the 2015 Grand Prix for Good, an award for public service and non-profit campaigns.

"It doesn't matter how good you are or what you look like when exercising," says Jennie Price, Sport England's CEO. "The most important thing is that you're doing something. That is what we should all celebrate."

The Glass Lions category was started in partnership with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's LeanIn.org, building on the launch of last year's "See It Be It" initiative to accelerate women's careers in advertising.

The 'Touch The Pickle' ad campaign for Procter & Gamble India won the top prize in the new Glass Lions award at the Cannes Ad Festival.(Photo: BBDO India)